This research will investigate the process of obtaining professional self regulation in optometry and the economic consequences of professional regulations. Using in-depth data on four selected case study states, the varying success of optometry in "professionalizing" will be explained, with particular attention to the roles of public representatives and professional associations. Data from all fifty states will then be analyzed by multiple regression analysis to explain the degree of regulatory power obtained by optometry in the states. Finally, the costs and benefits of professional regulations for consumers will be estimated by multiple regression analysis of optometric service prices on dimensions of product quality. These results will be used to estimate supply and demand equations for quality from which it is possible to compute the change in consumers' welfare due to professional regulations. The study will be generalizable to other self-regulating health professions and will be of interest to policy-makers in the field of economic regulation.